digital black white photography

Digital Black& White Photography DAVID TAYLOR THE EXPANDED GUIDE > TECHNIQUES SPECIAL OFFER 193 PAGE EXPANDED GUIDE ONLY 9.99

Digital Black & White Photography THE EXPANDED GUIDE Untitled-1 1Untitled-1 1 26/11/10 11:10:0126/11/10 11:10:01

Digital Black & White Photography2 Untitled-1 2Untitled-1 2 26/11/10 11:10:0126/11/10 11:10:01

Digital Black & White Photography THE EXPANDED GUIDE DAVID TAYLOR Untitled-1 3Untitled-1 3 26/11/10 11:10:0326/11/10 11:10:03

First published 2011 by Ammonite Press an imprint of AE Publications Ltd. 166 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1XU, United Kingdom Text AE Publications Ltd. Illustrative photography David Taylor Copyright in the Work AE Publications Ltd., 2011 All rights reserved The right of David Taylor to be identied as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, sections 77 and 78. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner. While every effort has been made to obtain permission from the copyright holders for all material used in this book, the publishers will be pleased to hear from anyone who has not been appropriately acknowledged, and to make the correction in future editions. The publishers and author can accept no legal responsibility for any consequences arising from the application of information, advice, or instructions given in this publication. A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Series Editor: Richard Wiles Design: Richard Dewing Associates Typeset in Frutiger Color reproduction by GMC Reprographics 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 418853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 4 16/05/2013 11:0916/05/2013 11:09

CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction 8 Chapter 2 Equipment 21 Chapter 3 Understanding Exposure 34 Chapter 44 Composition 54 Chapter 5 Color to Black & White 76 Chapter 6 Special Effects 98 Chapter 7 Projects 138 Chapter 8 Printing 166 Glossary 186 Useful web sites 189 Index 190 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 518853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 5 7/12/10 16:24:427/12/10 16:24:42

Untitled-1 6Untitled-1 6 26/11/10 11:10:0326/11/10 11:10:03

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Untitled-1 7Untitled-1 7 26/11/10 11:10:0526/11/10 11:10:05

Digital Black & White Photography8 Black & white photography In 1826, the rst ever photograph was created. It was in black & white. The idea of creating a color photograph wasnt too far behind, but for most of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, photography was essentially a monochromatic art form. Black & white photography requires you to interpret the world in a different manner to the way you do when shooting color. A black & white photograph is a less literal representation of the captured scene. Because there are no color cues, tone and contrast become more important as a means of dening the relationship between the various elements of your photograph. Learning how to see beyond color takes practice, but becomes second nature surprisingly quickly. However, creating a photo is just the start of a creative journey. Black & white photography is a wonderful medium for self-expression. The history of black & white photography since 1826 has been a rich stew of experimentation in style and techniques. In this book well explore some of these possibilities. The only problem is that once you start you may nd it difcult to stop! Creating striking black & white photographs was once the preserve of the expert. Now, with a digital camera and the right software, this art form has never been more accessible. LION (right) This photograph has been more heavily altered. It has been warm toned and a soft focus effect applied. The original le was just a base to work from. LANDSCAPE There are no subjects out of bounds to black & white photography. Nor are there any rules to how you should interpret the resulting photo. This photo is a relatively straightforward record of open moorland. 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 818853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 8 7/12/10 16:24:427/12/10 16:24:42

Digital Black & White Photography10 Color Visible light is just one small part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation that extends from gamma rays at one end to radio waves at the other. Light comprises discrete packets of energy known as photons. It is the release of energy as photons strike your cameras digital sensor that causes a photo to form. Visible light also acts as a wave, with a range of wavelengths between 400 nanometers and 700 nanometers (a nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter). At a wavelength of approximately 400 nanometers, light is perceived as a dark, purple violet. At 450 to 500 nanometers, this violet shades to blue; then as the wavelength increases, the color of perceived light continues through green, yellow, orange, and, at approximately 700 nanometers, reaches red. When relatively even amounts of all the wavelengths of visible light are mixed, light looks white. We see color by the way that light reacts SHINY APPLE A relatively tiny percentage of the visible wavelengths of light is reected by an object. In the case of a red apple, it is the wavelengths at approximately 700 nanometers. All the other wavelengths are absorbed. when it strikes an object. A red apple is red because all of the visible wavelength of light is absorbed by the apple except for the red part of the spectrum. These red wavelengths bounce off the surface of the apple and stimulate the red sensitive part of our vision. 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 1018853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 10 7/12/10 16:24:437/12/10 16:24:43

The Expanded Guide 11 SHADES OF GRAY Converting to black & white means deciding what tone each color will become. In this photo, I wanted the blues of the sky to darken to help dene the shape of the clouds. I used the equivalent of a red-orange lter, which also lightened the rocks in the foreground, separating them tonally from the elds behind. Tonal values When a black & white photo is created, the various colors of the subject are transformed into tones of gray. The art of black & photography is controlling what tonal value each color is converted to. To take the example of a red apple again, when converted to black & white the red will be altered to a mid-gray tone. Green grass will also be converted to a mid-gray tone. If we create a black & white photo of an apple sitting on grass, the two subjects will have similar tonal values. In color, the two subjects are distinctively different. In black & white, it will be hard to distinguish one from the other. Traditionally, colored lters (see page 31) were used to help change the tonal values of the subjects in a photo. A colored lter lets through the wavelengths of light similar in color to itself and reduces the strength of those that are dissimilar. If a red lter is used in the example quoted, the apple will lighten in appearance and the grass will darken. The tonal values of both will have diverged, creating a far more interesting photo. The Black & White conversion tool in Adobe Photoshop (see page 81) can now be used instead of colored lters, though the principle is still the same. A black & white photo is about tones and how they can be adjusted to create the most striking image. Canon 7D, 1740mm lens (at 17mm), 1/8 sec. at f/14, ISO 200 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 1118853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 11 7/12/10 16:24:437/12/10 16:24:43

COLOR The original color photo is vibrant, rich in red, green, and blue. Even though I saw it as a color photo at the time, when I reviewed it afterwards I could see potential for a black & white version. BLACK & WHITE Converted to black & white so that all the colors are treated equally, the photo looks at and dull. The tones are all very similar and the various elements of the picture seem to be merging into one another. Its a black & white photo and thats probably the best you can say about it. BLUE For the second attempt at conversion, I lightened the blue tones and darkened the reds. This would be equivalent to using a blue lter. It has made the sky a lot paler and the body of the locomotive much deeper. Theres a lot more contrast now, but its still not what I want. GREEN This time Ive simulated using a green lter. The foliage, the grass and trees, in the photo has been lightened. The photo is improving, but I still feel that the locomotive itself looks at and uninspiring. RED Finally, I adjusted the reds, simulating the use of a red lter. The sky has darkened and now looks more interesting. The locomotive has more character, too. The red of the body is lighter and stands out from the black areas more. This is the conversion that Im happiest with. Adjusting the tones 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 1218853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 12 7/12/10 16:24:447/12/10 16:24:44

The Expanded Guide 13 Previsualization Your camera is a wonderful device but, no matter how sophisticated the technology inside, it does not know how to create a pleasing photograph. That decision rests with you alone! Before you press the shutter-release button to create a photo, you need to work out what you want the nal photo to look like. In order to do this you need to ask yourself a few questions. How you answer these questions will help you in this previsualization process. Given below are a few such questions, though it is not an exclusive list. As you gain in experience you will nd you add questions of your own. Why not try? The squint test. Cameras cannot record the contrast range we can see. However, squinting can help you assess how a camera would see the scene remarkably accurately. Bright areas will still seem relatively light, but the shadow areas will darken considerably. If you cannot see details in the shadows, it is likely that the contrast range will be too high for the camera to record the full tonal range. Emotion What mood or atmosphere do I wish to create? Do I have a simple message that I want convey or will the meaning be more ambiguous? Is the light right at this moment or do I need to return at a different time? Composition What should and shouldnt be included in the photo? What lens do I need to use? Will a different viewpoint work better? Should the camera be held vertical or horizontal? Technique I have my composition, now how do I technically achieve my aims? Can it be achieved in-camera or will it require editing later? If so, how do I ensure I capture a sufcient tonal range to make the editing process easier? Do I need to use lters? OUTER HEBRIDES I previsualized this scene as I saw the cloud building up above me. It was only a matter of waiting until the cloud was where I wanted it to be to create the nal photo. Canon 5D, 24mm TS-E lens, 1/25 sec. at f/11, ISO 100 Untitled-1 13Untitled-1 13 26/11/10 11:10:1026/11/10 11:10:10

Digital Black & White Photography14 Camera sensors The digital sensor in your camera is a device for converting photons of light into information that can be used to form a photo. The most common sensor type uses the Bayer system. A Bayer sensor is divided up into a rectangular array of millions of tiny photosensors. These photosensors are arranged into groups of four, one photosensor to record red, one for blue, and two for green. The information from these four photosensors is then combined to produce one pixel in the nal digital photo le. It is the number of pixels created this way that determines the resolution of the camera. A sensor able to create 4000 by 3000 pixels (or 12 million) is referred to as a 12 megapixel (or mp) sensor. Catching Light A photosensor can be thought of as a receptacle to catch light, in the way that a bucket is used to catch rainwater. The smaller the sensor (as in a cell phone, for example), the smaller the photosensor buckets. This results in a small sensor being unable to capture as much information (or number of photons) at the time of exposure as a bigger sensor with the same resolution. This can have a detrimental effect on the noise (see page 43) present in the nal photo, the dynamic range (see page 47), and the sensors low-light sensitivity (see page 42). However, technology is improving and modern small sensors are much improved in this respect in comparison with those from even a few years ago. BAYER SENSORS This diagram shows a typical arrangement of photosensors in a Bayer sensor. There are more green photosensors because this arrangement mimics the physiology of the human eye. 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 1418853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 14 7/12/10 16:24:447/12/10 16:24:44

The Expanded Guide 15 8-BIT EDITING The gaps in this histogram show where the data in the 8-bit photo I was adjusting was stretched too far. This resulted in a posterized image that wasnt good enough to print. From pixels to paper Ultimately the best way to view a photograph is as a paper print. Theoretically, the greater the number of pixel sensors on a chip the larger and sharper the nal print should be (see chapter 8 for more about making prints). However, other factors such as lens quality and photography technique will often determine the maximum print size more than the number of megapixels on the digital sensor. 8-bit versus 16-bit A bit is the smallest unit of data used by a computer. It is essentially a switch that is either off (0), or on (1). A byte is a string of 8 bits. In binary notation a byte can be used to store numbers from 0 through to 255. This range of values is used to represent colors on devices such as computer monitors. Each pixel on your monitor requires 3 bytes of color information, one for red, one for green, and the last for blue (shortened to RGB). It is this RGB combination that results in the 16.7 million different colors that your monitor can display (256 x 256 x 256). Black is R:0, G:0, B:0; White is R:255, G:255, B:255. A pure gray tone is an equal combination of red, green, and blue. Mid-gray, for example, has an RGB value of R:127, G:127, B:127. Digital camera RAW les use 12, 14, or even 16-bits to record color information. In a 16-bit image, two bytes are used to store each RGB value, allowing 65,536 levels of color as opposed to 256. Monitors and printers cant display this range of colors. However, software that supports 16-bit les can use this extra information behind the scenes, when tonal adjustments to the photo are made. When an 8-bit image is edited, it can quickly suffer from posterization or odd jumps and gaps in the color of the image. This is because the data in the le has been pushed too far. This is less likely to occur in a 16-bit le because of the extra information available. When making tonal adjustments, it is recommended that you begin with a 16-bit le and then convert to 8-bit for storage and printing. Untitled-1 15Untitled-1 15 26/11/10 11:10:1126/11/10 11:10:11

Digital Black & White Photography16 Saving your photos There are two photo le formats commonly offered by a camera, JPEG and RAW. Both have strengths and weaknesses, and which you choose will depend on how you use your photos after capture and how much time you are prepared to devote to post-production. JPEG les JPEG photo les are compatible with a wide range of software packages. This includes photo editors such as Adobe Photoshop as well as web browsers and word processors. JPEG les are typically smaller than RAW les and so use less space on a memory card or hard drive. This is achieved by a form of compression that reduces the detail in the photo, lowering the photo quality. How much the quality is lowered is determined by the compression level set on your camera or photo editor. Once a JPEG le has been saved, any loss in quality due to the level of compression used cannot be recovered. One drawback of shooting JPEG is that the le format only supports 8-bit color. Any subsequent alteration you make to your photo will degrade the quality more quickly than if you were editing a RAW le. As a rule, shooting black & white in-camera is only an option if you are using the JPEG le format. A RAW le is always saved in full color. One compromise that some cameras allow is to shoot RAW+JPEG. This option will ll your memory card more quickly, since two les are saved for each exposure. However, this will allow you to view the photo in black & white at the time of capture and still have a high-quality le suitable for post-production. RAW Files When a JPEG le is saved by your camera, the photo has generally been processed according to a series of user-dened options. These options typically include settings such as contrast, color saturation, and sharpness. ARTIFACTS This photo was saved at a quality setting of 0 and so had maximum compression applied. This has resulted in a loss of ne detail, as shown in the close-up on the right. Canon 7D, 50mm lens, 1/60 sec. at f/2.2, ISO 100 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 1618853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 16 7/12/10 16:24:457/12/10 16:24:45

The Expanded Guide 17 CAMERA RAW The dialog box shown when importing RAW les directly into Adobe Photoshop. Why not try? Converting your raw les to the DNG format. DNG is an open raw format developed by Adobe Systems. Because it is not tied to one particular camera system, it is more widely recognized by photo editing software and operating systems than proprietary camera raw. See page 189 for Adobes website URL. A saved JPEG is baked and ready to use immediately. In contrast, a RAW le is all the data captured by the camera sensor without any processing applied. If a JPEG is the nished meal, the RAW le is the ingredients you need to make your own. RAW les need to be converted to a more usable le type, either by using the software supplied with your camera or a third-party photo editor. This is not a quick process and so you must be prepared to allocate time for post-production when shooting RAW. There is also no universally used RAW standard. A RAW le from one model of camera is not necessarily the same as that produced by a different model, even when both cameras are made by the same manufacturer! These are the disadvantages to shooting RAW. However, the advantages more than make up for any inconvenience. A RAW le is a digital negative, and is the starting point for the creative interpretation of your photos using your digital lightroom. The alterations you can make to a RAW le are far in excess of the options that are available on the menu of your camera. Also, the color data in a RAW le is saved using 12- or 14-bit values, so there is more leeway for post-production alteration than found with JPEG les. 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 1718853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 17 7/12/10 16:24:457/12/10 16:24:45

Landscape photography is at its most powerful when there is an element of drama to the weather. Unfortunately, this does sometimes involve suffering for your art. This photo came after a day spent trudging around the English Cheviot Hills in pouring rain. I was ready to give up for the day and had begun to walk downhill back to the car. Halfway down, the clouds broke and sunlight ooded the valley in front of me. I scrabbled to get the camera set up and record the scene before the clouds closed in again. The lesson I learnt that day is to be prepared for changes in the weather and not to give up too quickly! COLLEGE VALLEY, NORTHUMBERLAND, UNITED KINGDOM Canon 5D, 50mm lens, 1/25 sec. at f/11, ISO 100 Theatrical light Digital Black & White Photography18 Untitled-1 18Untitled-1 18 26/11/10 11:10:1126/11/10 11:10:11

Travel photography inevitably involves certain compromises. Because time is limited it is often not possible to return to a location over and over until the conditions are right for that perfect shot. On a trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland, I had the luxury of a day to scout around potential locations for an evening of photography. During that day I worked out a number of compositions I wanted to create. When evening came I was able to work quickly and maximize the numbers of shots I could make in the limited time I had available. LAGANSIDE, BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND Canon 1DS MkII, 1740mm lens (at 21mm), 30 sec. at f/13, ISO 100 The prepared mind The Expanded Guide 19 Untitled-1 19Untitled-1 19 26/11/10 11:10:1226/11/10 11:10:12

CHAPTER 2 EQUIPMENT Untitled-1 21Untitled-1 21 26/11/10 11:10:1526/11/10 11:10:15

Digital Black & White Photography22 What camera equipment you use is largely a matter of taste and budget.This chapter is a guide to the various options available. However, ultimately it is not the camera that makes the photos, it is the person who presses the button.That will always be the case no matter how sophisticated the technology becomes. Equipment TOY CAMERA This was shot on a plastic Holga lm camera that cost me less than $32 (20). Cameras dont need to be expensive for you to have fun and make creative photos. Untitled-1 22Untitled-1 22 26/11/10 11:10:1726/11/10 11:10:17

The Expanded Guide 23 DSLR The digital single-lens reex (or DSLR) camera is the most exible option if you plan to expand the capabilities of your photographic equipment. A DSLR is usually one part of a camera system that includes lenses and ashguns made either by the original camera manufacturer or a third party. Typically, the accessories for one camera system will not be compatible with those from another. This makes it is easy to get locked into a camera system and expensive to change if you wish to switch to a different brand. Using your DSLR When you look through the viewnder of a DSLR you see precisely what the camera sees, regardless of the lens used. This makes them ideal for precise composition. The price to be paid for this is a complex system involving a mirror and a pentaprism that folds the light coming through the lens and directs it to the viewnder. When the shutter-release button is pressed, the mirror swings up to let light through to the shutter behind. After exposure, the mirror drops back into place. During this process, the viewnder is temporarily blacked out. This mechanism is bulky and so DSLRs are often large and heavy items of equipment. Recent advances in technology have seen DSLRs that eschew the mirror in favor of a liveview viewnder with an electronic display (or Electronic ViewFinderEVF). This has helped to shrink the size of some DSLRs to almost compact proportions. Another feature of the DSLR is the level of control you have over all aspects of the cameras functions. Manual exposure and manual focus on a DSLR will allow you take full creative control of your photo making. The ability to shoot RAW les, common to all DSLRs, (see page 16) gives you further scope for creativity after the photo has been exposed. OLYMPUS E-PL1 One of the new breed of compact DSLRs that does not use a mirror system, enabling the camera to be made smaller than conventional designs. Untitled-1 23Untitled-1 23 26/11/10 11:10:1726/11/10 11:10:17

Digital Black & White Photography24 Compact cameras As the name suggests, a compact is a small camera suitable for carrying in a small case or pocket. Although many compacts have a zoom lens, this lens cannot be removed (an adapter is an option available for some compacts to extend the zoom range). This makes compact cameras far less expandable than a DSLR, so you may quickly outgrow a compact camera as your photography develops. Compact cameras also tend to be less well specied than DLSRs. The ability to shoot RAW is generally only an option on more expensive models. Using your compact camera Despite these limitations, a compact camera thanks to its size and weightmakes an ideal carry-around camera. Indeed, many professional photographers use compact cameras as pocket-sized visual notebooks. Composition on a compact is typically done by using the rear LCD screen, though some compacts also have an optical nder either built- in or available as an optional extra. In bright conditions the LCD screen is often difcult to see. There is a variety of add-on screen shades available for most cameras that may be useful in these situations. Bridge Cameras Falling somewhere between compacts and DSLRs in size, weight and expense are bridge cameras. These cameras are visually similar to DSLRs but do not have a detachable lens. They usually have a viewnder, but instead of looking through the lens you look at an EVF. Bridge cameras tend to be very well specied, and though less expandable than a DSLR, are often able to take external ashguns and have a lter thread on the lens that enables you to use lters (see page 30). MURAL A compact camera is very useful as a visual notebook when out for a walk. Ideas for future compositions can be explored quickly and easily without the need to constantly carry around bulky camera equipment. Canon G10, lens at 8mm, 1/80 sec. at f/5, ISO 80 Untitled-1 24Untitled-1 24 26/11/10 11:10:1726/11/10 11:10:17

The Expanded Guide 25 Cell phones The ubiquity of the cell phone has had a marked effect on photography. Now anyone with a modern cell phone also has a remarkably capable camera at his or her ngertips. The digital sensor in cell phones is generally even smaller than those found in compact cameras and so photo quality is often compromised (see page 14), but this is more than made up by the sheer portability of the phone. This has led to the rise of a citizens journalism, in which events that once would have been missed are immediately captured for posterity by people on their cell phones. Using your cell phone One of the big drawbacks with a cell phone is that the photos captured are stored as JPEGs, often heavily compressed to reduce their le size (see page 16). This will make it more difcult to edit the photos afterwards without further loss of quality. However, most cell phones can apply a variety of effects to a photo at the time of capture, reducing the need for further manipulation. The two most common effects are monochrome, where the photo is converted to a series of gray tones, and sepia (see page 108). Smart phones The latest generation of cell phones, most notably the Apple iPhone range, can run downloadable software known as an app (short for application). There are various photography apps available for smart phones Why not try? VINT B&W for Apple iPhone or Camera Illusion for Android OS phones. that allow more sophisticated black & white conversions than those possible with a standard cell phone. SAND PATTERNS This photo was stored on my cell phone for several months before I realized its potential for conversion to black & white. I now make it a habit to regularly review and edit anything created on my phone! Vodaphone V810 cell phone, exposure data not recorded 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 2518853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 25 7/12/10 16:24:457/12/10 16:24:45

Digital Black & White Photography26 Lenses The focal length of a lens is the distance in millimeters from the optical center of the lens to the focal plane when a subject at innity is in focus. The focal plane is where the sensor in your camera is located. Lenses with a xed focal length are known as primes. Lenses where the focal length can be changed are referred to as zoom lenses. The angle of view of a lens is the angular extent of the image projected by the lens and recorded by the sensor in your camera. The angle of view is dependent on the focal length of a lens and on the size of the sensor. A wide- angle lens, as the name suggests, captures a wide angle of view. This results in elements of the picture appearing spatially farther apart. The longer the focal length, the smaller the angle of view becomes, but the more the image is magnied, bringing your subject closer to you. Longer lenses are generally referred to as telephotos. Extreme wide-angle lenses (1420mm) These lenses have a huge angle of coverage, though the resulting images can look decidedly unnatural. Straight lines become curved and WIDE-ANGLE An example of the sense of space it is possible to create with a wide-angle lens. Canon 1DS MkII, 1740mm lens (at 17mm), 1/8 sec. at f/14, ISO 100 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 2618853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 26 7/12/10 16:24:467/12/10 16:24:46

The Expanded Guide 27 the spatial relationships between elements of the scene are exceptionally distorted. Its not recommended to use an extreme wide-angle lens as a portrait lens unless for effect. Wide-angle lenses (2435mm) Perspective is less distorted than the extreme wide-angle lenses, but can still look unnatural, particularly when creating images of people. Landscape photographers commonly use wide-angle lenses to create a sense of space, as shown in the photo, left. Standard lenses (5070mm) A standard lens is one that is generally thought to produce an image that most closely resembles how we perceive the world. Perspective looks natural and spatial relationships are normal. Telephoto (85200mm) Perspective is more compressed resulting in objects in a scene looking closer together, and the angle of view is small. Telephoto lenses are useful when single objects at a distance need to be isolated from their surroundings. Perspective becomes very compressed and objects that arent necessarily close spatially can look stacked together. A very narrow angle of view means that objects are very isolated from their background and thus become the most important (and often the only) element in the image. Note: All the focal lengths quoted above are 35mm equivalent. Extreme telephoto (300mmgreater) Canon 7D, 70200mm lens (at 120mm), 1/400 sec. at f/8, ISO 100 TELEPHOTO The longer the lens the more stacked the elements of your photo will look.The buildings in this photo look right on top of each other, though in reality they are spatially distant. Untitled-1 27Untitled-1 27 26/11/10 11:10:1926/11/10 11:10:19

Digital Black & White Photography28 Scanners The most common scanner available is the flatbed scanner. These come in many forms, often as one part of a printer and fax system. The most useful flatbed scanners are those with a built-in light-hood, which is used when scanning slides or negatives. A light-hood can also be used to create digital photograms (see page 116). See opposite for tips on what to consider when buying a flatbed scanner. Less common are dedicated slide scanners. These will only scan slides or negatives and cannot be used for documents. Slide scanners able to scan 35mm lm are still being produced at the time of writing, though the choice is now limited. Dedicated slide scanners will generally produce a higher quality result compared to a atbed scanner. The choice of slide scanners is even smaller still if you have medium format slides or negatives to scan. The Nikon Super Coolscan 9000-ED is the only medium format slide scanner still in production, though others such as the Minolta Scan Multi Pro can sometimes be found secondhand. The most frustrating aspect of scanning slides is dust. Although dust specks are easily cloned out using Photoshop it can be a tedious process particularly if the slide is old and hasnt been cared for. Some slide scanners have automatic dust removal systems, such as ICE, though the extra processing involved will increase the scanning time. MOROCCAN KASBAH Using my atbed scanner, Ive been able to scan my old color Fuji Velvia slides and convert them to black & white using Photoshop. Minolta 9, scanned lm, exposure details unrecorded Color bit depth The higher the bit depth of your scanner the more accurate the color information in the resulting scan will be (see page 15). For scanning slides and negatives, a bit scanner with a depth of 36 or 48 is preferable. Untitled-1 28Untitled-1 28 26/11/10 11:10:1926/11/10 11:10:19

The Expanded Guide 29 Why not try? Third-party slide scanning software often has more features than that supplied with your scanner. Vuescan by www.hamrick.com is a good and inexpensive alternative, with a 30-day trial version available for its appraisal. Nikon resolution, achieved through software interpolation. However, this is not the same as optical resolution and the results are generally inferior. For scanning slides an optical resolution of 1200 dpi or higher is the minimum you should consider. D-max Also known as dynamic range (see page 47), d-max is a measure of the tonal range the scanner can resolve. To scan slides or negatives, a scanner should have a d-max value of at least 3.4. Connection USB 2.0 is the current standard and most modern PCs will have a USB 2.0 port. Some scanners also use Firewire or SCSI connections. These are just as fast as a USB 2.0 connection, though not all PCs have the ability to connect to these devices without the installation of the relevant interface board. Resolution The optical resolution of the scanner will determine how much detail the scanner can extract from your transparency or negative. Some scanners boast an impressively high NIKON SUPER COOLSCAN 5000-ED The 35mm cousin of the 9000-ED, this dedicated slide scanner boasts an optical resolution of 4000 dpi and 48-bit color. 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 2918853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 29 7/12/10 16:24:467/12/10 16:24:46

Digital Black & White Photography30 LEEFilters LEE FILTERS The LEE Foundation Kit lter holder allows you to stack up to three different lters at any one time. Using lters A lter is a piece of glass or plastic placed in front of your camera lens that will have an effect on the light passing through it. When shooting black & white lm, colored lters will alter the tonal values of the resulting photograph. The effects these lters have can now be replicated when converting color photos to black & white using Photoshop. In some respects this is a good thing, since adding a lter to the front of your lens inevitably results in some loss of quality in the nal photograph. The more lters you use, the greater this loss will be. However, lters still have their uses and if you are shooting black & white JPEGs, colored lters will have just as much effect as if you were shooting lm. Other lters to consider using are neutral-density, polarizers, and graduated types. Attaching lters There are several ways to attach a lter to your lens. Circular lters have a thread that screws directly onto the front of the lens. These lters are generally inexpensive, though they do have the disadvantage that there is no standard lter thread size. You may nd that you have to buy the same type of lter many times over to t the different lenses in your collection. One solution is to buy adapter rings that will allow you to attach one lter to many different lenses. However, using too small a lter on a lens will cause vignetting. Another disadvantage is that lters such as neutral-density graduates are less easily adjusted when they are in circular form. Another method of attaching a lter to your lens is to use a lter holder system. Filters designed for use in a system are usually square or rectangular and are designed to slide into slots in the holder. There are several manufacturers of lter holder systems, such as Cokin and the British company LEE. The range of lters available for both systems is extensive and is further increased by compatible lters produced by other manufacturers. Adapter rings allow you to attach the lter holder to multiple lenses. Vignetting caused by smaller lter holders can be a problem on extreme wide-angle lenses, so it pays to use the largest (and therefore most expensive) system that your budget will allow. 18853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 3018853-DIGITAL B&W 001-033.indd 30 7/12/10 16:24:477/12/10 16:24:47

The Expanded Guide 31 RED FILTER Without the use of a red lter, the clouds in this picture of the Parliament Building on the banks of the River Danube in Budapest, Hungary, would have been less distinct against the hazy blue sky. The resulting light loss from the lter meant I had to use a tripod to avoid camera shake. Minolta 9, scanned lm, exposure details unrecorded Colored lters If you choose to shoot black & white photos in-camera, the most useful set of lters you can own are red, orange, yellow, green, and blue colored lters. These work by blocking certain wavelengths of light reaching the digital sensor in your camera. The blocked color will darken considerably. Conversely, similar colors to the lter color will lighten in tone. Red, orange, and yellow are useful for landscape photographers, since they will darken blue skies and help dene the shape of clouds (red most dramatically, followed by orange, then yellow). Green lters are often used in portraiture to help produce pleasing skin tones as well as lightening foliage. Because colored lters block certain wavelengths of light, there will inevitably be a certain amount of light loss. Auto-exposure will compensate for this but you will need to be aware of these changes if you use manual exposure. The compensation factor required should be provided with the lter when you buy it, or available as a fact sheet on the lter manufacturers website. Untitled-1 31Untitled-1 31 26/11/10 11:10:2026/11/10 11:10:20

Digital Black & White Photography32 Polarizing lters The classic use for a polarizing lter is to deepen the blue of a sky. This is most effective when the polarizer is pointed at 90 to the sun. The effect lessens as you move away from this angle. If there are clouds in the sky, the polarizing effect will help to increase the contrast between the clouds and the sky. Another use for the polarizing lter is to vary the amount of light reected from non- metallic surfaces. This applies to a wide-range of surfaces from water, to paint, to wet leaves. The optimum angle for this effect is when the polarizer is about 35 to the reective surface. Polarizing filters can be bought to screw directly onto your camera lens, or to fit onto a filter system holder. The front element of a polarizing filter is designed to rotate through 360. Rotating the polarizer allows you to vary the strength of the effect. At maximum polarization, you will find that skies can begin to turn almost black. If you were shooting in color, this effect could look decidedly unnatural, but it is a useful way to add a touch of drama to a sky in a black & white photo. There are two types of polarizers, circular and linear. This does not refer to the shape, but rather to the properties of the lter. Linear polarizers are only suitable for manual focus Canon 7D, 1740mm lens (at 17mm), 1/15 sec. at f/13, ISO 200 VIEWPOINT Strong sunlight with a scattering of clouds to add interest to the sky made this an ideal scene to use a polarizer. The polarizer was set to maximum to deepen the tones in the sky as much as possible. Untitled-1 32Untitled-1 32 26/11/10 11:10:2126/11/10 11:10:21

The Expanded Guide 33 Neutral density lters There are occasions when the base ISO (see page 42) of your camera may be too high to achieve a desired shutter speed and aperture combination. For example, trying to use a slow shutter speed and a large aperture without overexposure is almost impossible in direct, bright sunlight. A neutral density lter is partially opaque and cuts down the intensity of the light passing through it. This will allow you to use longer shutter speeds or larger apertures as desired. They are made in a variety of strengths, from 1 stop to 10 and are available either as a circular screw-in type or sized to t into a lter holder. ND-graduate lters One of the problems frequently encountered when creating landscape photos is controlling the contrast between the sky and foreground. This problem is particularly acute when the foreground is unlit. Exposing for the sky will result in an underexposed foreground. Exposing for the foreground will cause the sky to burn out. ND-graduate lters are used to balance these two requirements. Like neutral density lters, they come in a variety of strengths. The top half of the lter is slightly opaque, shading down to a transparent bottom half. The stronger the lter, the more opaque the top half. The greater the exposure difference between sky and foreground, the stronger the ND-graduate lter you would use. cameras. If your camera has autofocus, you should use a circular polarizer. A polarizer will reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor in your camera. It can therefore be used as a neutral density lter. Your camera should compensate for this light loss but if you are shooting in manual exposure mode you will need to increase the exposure by 1.5 to 2 stops. Canon 5D, 1740mm lens (at 40mm), 1/15 sec. at f/13, ISO 100 ND-GRADUATE The use of a three stop ND-graduate lter has allowed me to retain detail in the sky of this scene in Northumberland, England. Untitled-1 33Untitled-1 33 26/11/10 11:10:2226/11/10 11:10:22

CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE Untitled-2 35Untitled-2 35 26/11/10 11:15:3026/11/10 11:15:30

Digital Black & White Photography36 Understanding exposure The word photography is derived from the Ancient Greek words (phos or light) and (graph, or I write). Photography is writing with light. If the art of writing is telling a story well, the same is true of photography. Instead of choosing words for our story, we choose the amount and quality of light that is suitable for the photo we want to create. Light has many qualities; it can be hard or soft, direct or ambient, warm or cool. There is an old adage that there is no bad light, only bad photography. Learning to recognize and successfully control the various characteristics of light is one part of the journey of becoming a photographer. We control the amount of light entering the camera with two basic controls, aperture and shutter speed. The meter in your camera will guide you as to how they should be used, though it is only a guide. The decision, as much a part of the creative process as composition, should ultimately be yours. The sensor in your camera requires a certain amount of light to capture an image. Understanding and controlling this process is an important aspect of creative photography. CLOUDSCAPES Two very different photos of coastal subjects. The photo on the facing page is light and airy. This photo is far more brooding and dramatic. The difference is in the quality of the light. Untitled-2 36Untitled-2 36 26/11/10 11:15:3226/11/10 11:15:32

Digital Black & White Photography38 Aperture The aperture of a lens is the opening through which light passes on its way to the digital sensor. The size of the aperture on all but the simplest of cameras can be adjusted from maximum, when the aperture is as open as is physically possible, to minimum, when the aperture is at its smallest. The aperture is reduced or enlarged in precise units known as f-stops. The smaller the number after the f/ mark, the wider the aperture and the larger the number after the f/ mark, the smaller the aperture. The range of apertures available varies between lens models. Typically zoom lenses have relatively small maximum apertures in comparison to primes. If a zoom has a large maximum aperture, it will either be very heavy or very expensive, and more often than not, it will be both. There is a precise relationship between each f-stop value and the values on either side of it. Moving from left to right, each f-stop allows half as much light through to the sensor as the f-stop that precedes it. Or, moving from right to left, each f-stop allows twice as much light through to the sensor as the previous f-stop. Because less light is admitted through the aperture as it is stopped down, the shutter speed must be lengthened to compensate. A typical f-stop range on a camera lens is: f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22 IRON-AGE FORT Stopping a lens down increases the depth of eld. In order to extend sharpness from the foreground to the horizon in this photograph of an iron-age fort in Ingram Valley, Northumberland, I used a small aperture. Canon 1DS MkII, 1740mm lens (at 27mm), 1/50 sec. at f/16, ISO 100 Untitled-2 38Untitled-2 38 26/11/10 11:15:3526/11/10 11:15:35

The Expanded Guide 39 Depth of eld Changing the aperture has a noticeable effect on the photo. As the aperture is made smaller, a zone of sharpness extends out from the point of focus. This effect is known as depth of eld. The amount of depth of eld achievable is dependent on several factors: the lens aperture used, the focal length of the lens, and the camera-to-subject distance. Depth of eld always extends farther back from the point of focus than in front. The longer the focal length of a lens, the less depth of eld there will be for a given aperture. With a wide-angle lens, it is often relatively easy to achieve front-to- back sharpness with a moderately small aperture. This becomes almost impossible with a long lens, even when it is stopped down to the smallest aperture. Depth of eld also diminishes the closer the camera-to- subject distance. Macro photography, with its very small camera-to-subject distances, often involves very shallow depth of eld and necessitates an accurate focusing technique. Deep depth of eld is often used by landscape photographers to create front- to-back sharpness. Maximum depth of eld is achieved by setting the focus point to the hyperfocal distance. This is the closest distance a lens, at a given aperture, can be focused and have depth of eld extend out FATHER OF COMPUTING I was unable to set up a tripod to shoot this photo of the Alan Turing sculpture at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. In order to maintain a reasonable shutter speed, I set the lens to the maximum aperture and increased the ISO (see page 42). Because the depth of eld was so small, my focusing had to be very precise. to innity. Any object from the hyperfocal distance to half that distance should also be acceptably sharp. Canon 7D, 50mm lens, 1/160 sec. at f/1.4, ISO 800 Why not try? The free hyperfocal distance calculator available from http://www.dofmaster.com 18853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 3918853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 39 7/12/10 16:42:187/12/10 16:42:18

Digital Black & White Photography40 Shutter Speed The shutter speed of a camera is the duration of time that the shutter remains open, exposing the digital sensor to light. The typical range of shutter speeds on a DSLR runs from 30 sec. up to 1/8000 of a second (compact cameras tend to have a smaller range, typically omitting any speed longer than a second). This range of different shutter speeds allows a variety of different creative interpretations of a scene. As with apertures, the difference between each consecutive shutter speed is also known as a stop. For example, there is a one-stop difference between a shutter speed of 1/15 and 1/30 of a second (some cameras will allow changes in half or thirds of a stop). As you decrease the amount of time the shutter is open, each stop difference represents a halving of the amount of light reaching the sensor. A shutter speed of 1/30 of a second will allow half as much light through to the sensor as 1/15 of a second. If this sounds familiar, then theres good reason. A stop isnt a measurement of time or aperture size, its a measurement of light. There is a reciprocal relationship between shutter speed and aperture. To maintain the same exposure when using different shutter speeds, the size of the aperture would also have to be altered. The photograph below was shot at f/11 at 1/60 second. From the table you can see that other combinations of aperture and shutter speed could have been used to achieve the same exposure. Shutter Speed: 1/15 1/30 1/60 1/125 1/250 Aperture: f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22 Untitled-2 40Untitled-2 40 26/11/10 11:15:3526/11/10 11:15:35

The Expanded Guide 41 TIDAL WATER I wanted to record the waves lapping over this rocky shore. The shutter speed was long because the sun had set and I needed a small aperture for maximum depth of eld. This has had the effect of rendering the waves as a misty blur. Long and Short Exposures With a static subject, any shutter speed will be suitable. The only limitation would be that a lengthy shutter speed might cause camera shake if you are handholding the camera. As soon as your subject begins to move, the shutter speed you choose will affect the success, or not, of your photo. The faster your subject is moving, the faster the shutter speed will need to be if you want to freeze the action. A car traveling at 30mph would require a shutter speed of approximately 1/1000 of a second if you wanted a sharp result. The faster the car, the more youd need to increase the shutter speed. If light levels are low, the more difcult this speed will be to achieve, and to compensate you would need to use your Canon 5D, 28mm lens, 20 sec. at f/20, ISO 100 lens at its maximum aperture or increase the ISO (see page 42). Another creative use of shutter speeds is to suggest movement through blur. Any movement that occurs during a long shutter speed will record as a blur. The faster the subject is moving, or the longer the shutter is open, the more blurred and indistinct the subject will become. If your camera has a bulb mode, it is possible to lock the shutter open for any length of time, so long as the battery holds out! In bright conditions, it might be impossible to achieve a low enough shutter speed for the desired effect. In this instance, you would need to add an ND lter to the front of the lens (see page 33). 18853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 4118853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 41 7/12/10 16:42:187/12/10 16:42:18

Digital Black & White Photography42 ISO In photography, ISO is the method of measuring the sensitivity to light of the digital sensor. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive to light the digital sensor is. When ISO is increased, the signal from the sensor is amplied. However, this also amplies the effect on your photo of background electrical noise caused by the cameras circuitry. Modern sensor designs are increasingly able to circumvent these problems and so reduce noise, but a low ISO photo will always be less noisy than a high ISO photo. What ISO value you choose will be dependant on the lighting conditions and the nature of the subject you are trying to capture. Low ISO values (50800 ISO) Noise is virtually absent at these speeds, so in terms of ultimate photo quality, a low ISO would be the preferred choice. However, particularly in low-light situations, a low ISO value will mean that a longer shutter speed or wider aperture will be required. This may result in camera- shake or less than the required depth of eld to ensure that your subject is sharp. Mid-range ISO values (8001600 ISO) Noise starts to become noticeable at these speeds. You may feel that increased noise may be an acceptable compromise to make in order to keep shutter speeds relatively high for freezing action or to use a small aperture for increased depth of eld. High ISO values (1600 and above) Noise becomes dominant. High ISO values are not recommended if image quality is in any way important. However, you will have increased exibility in terms of your choice of shutter speed and aperture combination. If it means the difference between capturing a photo or not, then a grainy photo is better than none at all. DETAIL By increasing the ISO on my camera to its maximum of 1600, I was able to hold the camera steady by hand. However, noise has reduced the level of detail quite drastically. Canon G10, lens at 6.1mm, 1/8 sec. at f/2.8, ISO 1600 Untitled-2 42Untitled-2 42 26/11/10 11:15:3626/11/10 11:15:36

The Expanded Guide 43 Noise Digital noise is seen as variations in brightness and color in your photos, making them look mottled or blotchy. It is particularly noticeable in large areas of continuous color such as clear sky. How noisy your photos are will be dependent on the size of the sensor in your camera. Generally, at a given number of megapixels, the bigger the sensor, the more controlled noise will be (see page 14). Causes of noise There are several ways in which noise can become a problem. Increasing the ISO is one way. Noise can also be caused by heat. This can be a problem with long shutter speeds. The longer the shutter speed, the more the sensor will heat up. If your camera has the facility to shoot photos longer than one second, it will usually have a menu option to reduce this noise. When selected, the camera will expose twice. The rst exposure to create your photo, and then, without ring the shutter, a second exposure is made for the same length of time as the rst. From this dark frame the camera can work out where noise is a problem and use this information to subtract the noise. The one big drawback with using this method is that it doubles the length of time needed to make a photo. Reducing noise Digital noise is less aesthetically pleasing than lm grain (see page 104), since it tends to be less random and more mechanical in appearance. It often takes the form of distinctive vertical or horizontal banding. This noise can be removed or reduced after capture by using noise reduction software. There is a variety of third-party plug-ins that can be run from Photoshop. These plug-ins are often able to distinguish the type of noise created by a particular camera sensor and so remove noise more effectively. Why not try? Noise Ninja noise reduction software for Windows and Mac. Its available as both a Photoshop plug-in and as a standalone application. www.picturecode.com NOISE NINJA The Noise Ninja dialog box on an Apple Mac. 18853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 4318853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 43 7/12/10 16:42:197/12/10 16:42:19

Digital Black & White Photography44 Reective metering All in-camera metering modes use reective readings to establish exposure. This method of metering measures the amount of light reected by the scene back to the camera. Reective metering is based on the assumption that an average scene will reect 18% of the light falling on it. This is equivalent to an overall tonal value of mid-gray. Grass and stone are good examples of real-world subjects that equate to mid-gray. However, not all scenes have an average distribution of tones and reective meters can be fooled by scenes that differ from this ideal. A darker-than-average scene will generally cause a reective meter to overexpose, a lighter-than- average scene can cause underexposure. In both instances, the error is due to the exposure meter trying to create an overall tonal value equivalent to mid-gray. The names and number of metering modes vary between camera models. Which you use will be determined by how much or how little of the scene before you that you want to meter and how the results are interpreted. Multi-segment metering This method of metering has a number of different names, such as matrix or evaluative, though essentially the principle is the same. The scene to be metered is divided into a number of zones and the camera measures the light in each zone separately. The nal exposure is a combination of the exposures from each zone calculated, depending on a number of factors. One of the factors often taken into account is the focus-point, with the exposure being biased to the zone in which the focus point ATTIC CONVERSION By using the spot meter on my camera I was able to determine that the contrast range of this scene was greater than my camera could cope with. The nal exposure was calculated by metering from the top of the bricks on the left of the picture, with the knowledge that there would be little recorded detail in the shadow areas. Canon 7D, 1740mm lens (at 17mm), 30 sec. at f/11, ISO 100 Untitled-2 44Untitled-2 44 26/11/10 11:15:3726/11/10 11:15:37

The Expanded Guide 45 Center-weighted metering The use of center-weighted metering in cameras pre-dates multi-segment metering and is less sophisticated. In use, the light levels of the entire scene are measured, but the exposure is biased toward the center. This bias varies between camera models, but typically 6080% of the exposure is determined by the light levels at the center of the scene. Spot metering Using the spot-metering mode on your camera allows you to very accurately measure the exposure needed for specic areas of a scene. The metering area is generally somewhere between 1% and 5% of the viewnder. Usually the spot metering area is in the center of the viewnder, though some camera systems allow you to move it around the viewnder, linking it to the focus point. An important benet of using the spot meter is helping you determine the dynamic range (see page 47) of a scene. You do this by measuring the exposures needed for both the highlights and the shadow area. If the difference between the two exposure readings is too wide, you will know immediately that the camera will not be able to record the scene as you see it. To remedy this, you will either need additional lighting to lighten the shadow areas, or to be aware that some compromise in the nal exposure will be needed. Generally it is better to lose detail in the shadow areas than the highlights, though of course the creative decision will be yours. Incident metering Handheld meters (except handheld spot meters) measure the light falling onto the scene and are therefore not affected by the reectivity of your subject. Used well, incident meters are usually more accurate than reective meters. Incident meters are held in front of the subject, with the light-reading mechanism pointing toward the camera. The resulting meter reading can then be set on the camera in manual mode. The one drawback with incident meters is when the subject is some distance from the camera and it is physically difcult to move between both. falls. Multi-segment metering is generally very accurate and is usually the default in-camera metering mode. OAK LEAF The scene, with no bright highlights or deep shadows, was correctly exposed by using center- weighted metering. Canon 7D, 70200mm lens (at 200mm), 6 sec. at f/14, ISO 100 18853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 4518853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 45 7/12/10 16:42:197/12/10 16:42:19

Digital Black & White Photography46 Histograms The LCD on the back of your camera is generally not an accurate way to assess the exposure and tonal range of your photos. A better way is to use a histogram. A histogram is a graph showing the distribution of tones in your photos. The horizontal axis represents the brightness levels in a photo, from black on the extreme left of the histogram through to white at the extreme right. The vertical axis represents the number of pixels of each tone in a photo. Most cameras will allow you to view a histogram of your photos, either in live view before capture, or in playback after the exposure has been taken. There is no ideal shape for a histogram. However, if it is clipped the tonal range has exceeded the point at which detail could be recorded. When the histogram is clipped on the left, no detail will be recorded in the darkest parts of your photo; those areas will be pure black. When the histogram is clipped on the right, no detail will be recorded in the brightest parts of your photo; those areas will be pure white. A cameras dynamic range is a measure of The histogram here is skewed to the left, with no tones lighter than mid-gray, indicating that the photo is potentially underexposed. The tonal range is better distributed in this histogram, with no clipping at either end. This is a good exposure. There are few tones in this histogram that are darker than mid-gray and the highlights have been clipped, indicating overexposure. 18853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 4618853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 46 7/12/10 16:42:207/12/10 16:42:20

The Expanded Guide 47 its ability to capture both shadow and highlight detail. A DSLR typically has a greater dynamic range than a compact. If the contrast range of the scene in front of you is greater than the camera can record, clipping will inevitably result. Using lters such as ND graduates is one way to control the contrast (see page 48). Another technique is to use ll-in ash, extra lighting, or reector boards. If none of these methods is suitable, you will need to decide which part of the tonal range is important and which part you are prepared to sacrice detail in. You would then expose your photo accordingly, using exposure compensation if you need to override the exposure suggested by your camera. A rule of thumb is that loss of shadow detail is less objectionable than losing detail in the highlights. Another method of creating greater dynamic range is to shoot different exposures, one for the shadow detail, a middle exposure, and one for the highlight detail, and merge them into an HDR photo (see page 88). A FINE BALANCE This photo of Hexham Abbey, Northumberland, United Kingdom, was trickier to expose for than I initially anticipated. With lots of shadow and highly reective clock faces, I had to consult my cameras histogram carefully to avoid clipping either end. Canon 7D, 70200mm lens (at 78mm), 0.4 sec. at f/11, ISO 100 18853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 4718853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 47 7/12/10 16:42:207/12/10 16:42:20

Digital Black & White Photography48 Contrast A photo that is pure black and white with no gray tones is the highest contrast possible. Conversely, a photo in which the darkest tones are similar in density to the lightest tones would be a low-contrast image. Like many aspects of photography, there is no right or wrong answer to the amount of contrast a photo needs. In many ways, contrast is more important to the success of a black & white photo than a color one. Because a black & white photo is all about tones, how you control the tonal range will determine its impact and emotional resonance. As an example, it is easier to convey a sense of romance or atmosphere in a photo by using low contrast rather than high. Different types of lighting create different levels of contrast. Point light sources create strong contrast. The sun is a point light source, as is a ashgun. These are very direct sources of light emanating from a small source. Diffusing a point light source helps to reduce contrast. This happens naturally to sunlight on an overcast day. Because the suns light is scattered by cloud, it appears to emanate from a larger area of the sky. This reduces the brightness of highlights and the density of shadows. The same effect can be achieved when using a ashgun by bouncing the light from a reector onto your subject or by using a softbox attached to the ashgun. The difference between the highlight and shadow areas of a scene is the contrast.The greater the difference, the greater the contrast. HAZY BORROWDALE Dust or water in the air creates haze that reduces contrast considerably. This is a view from the summit of Cat Bells in the English Lake District. The day was bright, but the light was extremely at. This is one of the unprocessed RAW les from a series I shot that day. Canon 5D, 100mm lens, 1/200 sec. at f/11, ISO 100 18853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 4818853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 48 7/12/10 16:42:217/12/10 16:42:21

The Expanded Guide 49 -1 If you intend to edit your photo in Photoshop, it is always easier to start with a at photo and add contrast than to try to remove contrast. Using a spot meter (see page 45), it is easy to determine the contrast range of your scene and whether any action is required to bring the contrast level down to a manageable level. Contrast can be controlled by the use of additional lighting or by using reectors on the opposite side of your subject to the main light source. If you are shooting JPEG, set the contrast applied to the photo to its lowest setting. This is usually done on the shooting menu as one of the creative style choices. Contrast is altered in Photoshop using tools such as Curves, Levels, and Brightness/Contrast (see page 44). APPLYING CONTRAST Because the contrast was so low, I used the Curves tool to expand the tonal range to include darker tones as well as light. This increased the overall contrast. 18853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 4918853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 49 7/12/10 16:42:217/12/10 16:42:21

Digital Black & White Photography50 High- and low-key exposure Low key Low-key photos can be foreboding, mysterious, sinister. They tend not to be optimistic or jolly. A low-key photo is dominated by dark tone. Any light tones present are usually only there to dene the shape of your subject. When creating portraits, this may involve the use of only one light to illuminate the edge of the face. Low-key landscapes are mostly shot in stormy weather or at the ends of the day when the light levels are naturally low. A low-key photo will usually have a histogram skewed to the left. This would normally indicate an underexposed photo, but in this instance that is precisely the effect we are after. However, if possible, expose so that detail is retained in the shadow areas without losing highlight detail. It is easier to reduce brightness in Photoshop later than to recover shadow detail that is no longer there. High key A high-key photo is airy, innocent, romantic. It is not pessimistic or brooding. There are usually few dark tones in a high-key photo. High-key photos need to be lit well so that the highlights are similar tonally to the shadows. A photo that is high key will usually have a histogram skewed to the right. When exposing, be careful not to lose the highlight detail. If your shadow areas are too dark, you may need to light them to lower contrast. This can be achieved through the use of reector boards or ash. The distribution of tones plays an important part in the creation of the mood of your photo. Brooding or ethereal moods can be achieved by low- and high-key exposure respectively. LOW KEY I used my spot meter and measured from the strip of light across the horizon. Once I had the right exposure setting for that region of the photo, I knew from the contrast level that everything else would be darker than mid-gray. Pentax 67II, scanned lm, exposure details unrecorded 18853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 5018853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 50 7/12/10 16:42:227/12/10 16:42:22

51The Expanded Guide HIGH KEY These petals were scanned on a atbed scanner. Because the light was relatively even, there were no hard shadows. Epson 4990 atbed scanner, scanned at 1200ppi 18853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 5118853-DIGITAL B&W 034-053.indd 51 7/12/10 16:42:227/12/10 16:42:22

Digital Black & White Photography52 Silhouettes To a make an interesting silhouette, you need to pick your subject carefully. Choose a subject that has a bold, recognizable shape that isnt too three-dimensional. If possible, ensure that the area around your subject is open with no distracting elements entering into the picture frame. If you are creating a silhouette of a person, a prole view will be far more effective that a view from the front. The light behind your subject has to be much stronger than any light falling onto it. Outdoors, silhouettes are easier to create at the ends of the day when the sky is still bright but ambient light levels are low. In a studio, you should light your subject from behind and with little or no light at the front. Because your subject is dark (and you want it to remain that way!) your camera meter may overexpose to compensate. If your camera has a spot meter mode, switch to that and meter from the background. If your camera lacks that facility, you may need to use exposure compensation. The level of compensation will vary from scene to scene but two or three stops underexposure is a good starting point. In automatic modes, many cameras will opt to use ash in this sort of lighting situation. Make sure that ash is switched off before you begin. Creating a silhouette requires extreme levels of contrast. Silhouettes are primarily about the shape of your subject rather than texture. WRITHING BRANCHES The area around this leaess tree was cluttered and did not add to the photo. I decided to shoot up the trunk from below to simplify the composition for maximum impact. Canon 1DS MkII, 1740mm lens (at 17mm), 1/30 sec. at f/10, ISO 100 Untitled-2 52Untitled-2 52 26/11/10 11:15:4026/11/10 11:15:40

53The Expanded Guide STREETLIGHT I liked the way this ornate streetlight framed the houses behind. Because there are no depth cues, it is hard to judge relative sizes, an ambiguity that works well in this photo. Canon 1DS MkII, 1740mm lens (at 17mm), 1/30 sec. at f/10, ISO 100 Untitled-2 53Untitled-2 53 26/11/10 11:15:4126/11/10 11:15:41

CHAPTER 4 COMPOSITION Untitled-3 55Untitled-3 55 26/11/10 11:18:4926/11/10 11:18:49

Digital Black & White Photography56 Composition There are a few rules that can be followed that help to create pleasing composition. However, following these rules can lead to formulaic pictures. It is often worth knowing about the rules just to be able to break them! A few of the more common rules are given here. The rest of the chapter discusses some of the other compositional rules to experiment with. Rule of thirds Imagine your photo divided into nine equal segments by two horizontal and two vertical lines. The rule of thirds states that your subject should not be placed in the center of the photo, but at the intersection of two of these lines. Symmetry If your photo could be folded in two and the two halves match, you would have a symmetrical composition. These can be very pleasing, but adding in an element that breaks the symmetry will add dynamic tension to your photo. Balance If your photo were on a pivot, by adding your subject off-center the photo would become unbalanced. Consider how you can add something of less importance on the other side to help restore the balance. Leading lines As viewers, we like to follow lines through photos. A leading line is an element in a photo that draws our eye toward the main subject. Leading lines can be made from many things such as natural shapes in the landscape and architectural features. Each photo you make is a story of a particular time and place. Composition is the arrangement of the various elements in your photo that help tell the story in the most pleasing manner. BALANCE The crag on the right of this photo helps to balance the tree on the far left. Pentax 67II, scanned lm, exposure details unrecorded 18853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 5618853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 56 7/12/10 17:01:267/12/10 17:01:26

The Expanded Guide 57 LEADING LINES I placed this swan on a right third to make it look as though it were swimming into the center. If it were placed on the left third, the photo would look decidedly odd. Canon 1DS MkII, 1740mm lens (at 19mm), 1/15 sec. at f/11, ISO 100 18853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 5718853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 57 7/12/10 17:01:277/12/10 17:01:27

Digital Black & White Photography58 Photo shape There are many reasons to crop a photo. Sometimes you may not be able to get as close to your chosen subject as youd like. Cropping will help to remove any extraneous detail and help to simplify your photo (see page 68). Another good reason is that your composition may work more effectively in a different shaped photo. The traditional 35mm shape used by most DSLRs is a rectangle with the proportions of 3:2 (the longest edge is 1.5 times greater than the shortest). Compacts and cameras developed following the Four Thirds standard produce images in the proportions of 4:3 (the longest edge is only 1.33 times greater than the shortest, which matches the proportions of a standard television). However, there is no reason not to compose for a square or for a long panoramic. If your camera has the facility to overlay grid lines in the viewnder or LCD, this will help you decide the shape of your photograph. Use the lines as a basis for where you will ultimately crop your photo. If your camera does not have a grid lines facility, mentally divide the viewnder into sections and keep the most important elements of your photo within these boundaries. The initial size and proportion of your digital photograph is determined by your camera. However, you should not feel constrained by this. Cropping a photo to improve it is part of the creative process. DOCKING Its sometimes possible to nd a number of different, equally valid, photos within one. This photo of a ferry docking is the original. On the opposite page are a few examples of further compositions I created by selective cropping. Which do you prefer? Canon 1DS MkII, 70200mm lens (at 200mm), 0.4 sec. at f/8, ISO 250 18853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 5818853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 58 7/12/10 17:01:287/12/10 17:01:28

The Expanded Guide 59 Untitled-3 59Untitled-3 59 26/11/10 11:18:5326/11/10 11:18:53

Digital Black & White Photography60 Abstraction An abstract composition is one that has no immediately apparent subject. This is usually achieved by removing as many visual clues about the subject, such as overall shape or size, as possible. The closer you are to your subject, the more abstract will the image become. Long focal-length lenses are ideal for creating abstract photos. They allow you to crop in more and isolate your subject in a way that will be more difcult with a wider-angle lens. Macro lenses are also useful for similar reasons. Abstract photo opportunities can be found anywhere and everywhere. Look around your home. Even the most mundane objects can be shot in an abstract way. Look for interesting texture or patterns within your subject. Using the selective focus technique (see page 70) will increase the sense of mystery found in a good abstract photo. One of the joys of photography is creating a photo that is not instantly recognizable.This will make it more difcult to interpret, but will impart a sense of mystery that will invite a lingering look. BEACH For this photo I used a long lens to crop tightly on the patterns caused by the wet and dry sand. Canon 1DS MkII, 200mm lens, 1/40 sec. at f/11, ISO 100 Untitled-3 60Untitled-3 60 26/11/10 11:18:5426/11/10 11:18:54

The Expanded Guide 61 DROPLETS By using a macro lens I was able to ll the frame with these water droplets on a leaf. It is almost impossible to get a sense of scale, though the leaf was only a few inches across. Canon 1DS MkII, 100mm lens, 1/125 sec. at f/4.0, ISO 400 Untitled-3 61Untitled-3 61 26/11/10 11:18:5526/11/10 11:18:55

Digital Black & White Photography62 Repetition To convey repetition successfully, you should suggest that the pattern could continue forever outside the boundary of the photo. This will require you to ll the frame with the pattern so that there are no gaps that break the sequence. Again, the use of a longer focal length lens is ideal for this sort of photography. For a more dynamic approach, look for elements that break the pattern. This will add an immediate focal point for your composition. Think about the placement of this element within the frame. If possible, place it where it will have maximum visual impact. Too near the edge of the frame and the placement could look half-hearted. Shooting a at pattern, in a at plane parallel to your camera, will not require a great depth of eld. However, if your pattern is three- dimensional think carefully about where to place your focus point to maximize sharpness. Remember, depth of eld extends less far in front of the focus point than it does behind. Once you start to look, repetitive patterns can be found everywhere, both in the natural world and in the built environment. Repetition is pleasing to the eye; its not dynamic but soothing. SEATING I found these carved armrests in a local church fascinating. I didnt include the entire row, but concentrated on just the rst four. I was condent that this would be enough to convey the idea of the pattern continuing. Canon G10, lens at 30.5mm, 13 sec. at f/4.5, ISO 80 Untitled-3 62Untitled-3 62 26/11/10 11:18:5626/11/10 11:18:56

The Expanded Guide 63 LOOKING DOWN I had to handhold this shot in dim lighting. To maximize my depth of eld I focused on the rail at the top of the picture. Canon 5D, 24mm lens, 1/25 sec. at f/4, ISO 1000 Untitled-3 63Untitled-3 63 26/11/10 11:18:5626/11/10 11:18:56

Digital Black & White Photography64 Using frames Depth of eld will be an important consideration when you frame your composition. If the framing element is some distance from your main subject, but close to your camera, it may be difcult to get both sharp. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Be bold, use a large aperture so that your framing element is very out-of-focus and set your focus point on the subject. The out-of-focus areas will help to give your photo depth. Frames that are darker than your subject also help to draw attention to it. Silhouettes (see page 52) make particularly good framing devices. If shooting a silhouette, look for bold shapes that dont detract from the main subject. Anything too ornate would be worthy of a photo in its own right! Think about how the framing device relates to the subject. Is there a link? If so, how do you make that obvious? Framing devices dont have to have any relation to the subject, but those that do will give your subject more context. Framing can also help to convey different emotions. A visually dominant frame around a subject could be oppressive or it could be reassuring. An out-of-focus frame could be made to feel voyeuristic or intimate. If a photo is a story, framing can help you tell it. Framing will help to focus attention on your photographic subject. Used well, it will also add depth and interest to your composition. GLIMPSED RUINS I deliberately focused on the tower in the background and left the surrounding wall out-of-focus to mimic the way that I originally saw the scene. Canon 1DS MkII, 70200mm lens (at 70mm), 1/320 sec. at f/5.0, ISO 100 Untitled-3 64Untitled-3 64 26/11/10 11:18:5726/11/10 11:18:57

The Expanded Guide 65 SHY CHILD I liked the shyness of this young girl, conveyed by the way she is framed by the door to her house. Canon 5D, 50mm lens, 1/160 sec. at f/6.3, ISO 400 18853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 6518853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 65 7/12/10 17:01:297/12/10 17:01:29

Digital Black & White Photography66 The decisive moment Anticipation is the key to knowing when the decisive moment is about to occur. This involves a certain amount of watching and waiting. The more you know about your subject the better. If you are taking photos of a sporting event, it helps to know the rules and the likely outcome of a particular move by the players. In unfamiliar situations involving people, try to work out the different personality types involved. Bolder people are more likely to be demonstrative than reserved people. Look out for extravagant hand gestures and unusual behavior. Successfully capturing the decisive moment also means knowing your camera well. If you need to think about creating a photograph, it probably means the moment will pass before youre ready. If possible, use a prime lens and get to know its characteristics. With practice, it soon becomes second nature to frame a composition without conscious thought. Using a zoom lens can actually be counterproductive, again because working your way through the zoom range and deciding on a particular focal length takes time. All photographs are moments in time captured for posterity.The decisive moment is the precise instant that all the elements of your photo come together to make a coherent and interesting composition. FALLING I didnt know anything about the sport of Cumberland Wrestling when I went to photograph a competition. After ten minutes of watching, I was able to anticipate what would occur and be ready for the key moments. Canon 7D, 50mm lens, 1/250 sec. at f/7.1, ISO 100 18853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 6618853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 66 7/12/10 17:01:307/12/10 17:01:30

The Expanded Guide 67 POOLSIDE CAT Luck occasionally plays its part when creating a photo. Relaxing by a pool, I saw this cat warily walking around the waters edge. I shot one frame out of curiosity. It was only when I got home that I realized that the texture of pool matched the markings on the cat. Canon 5D, 50mm lens, 1/1000 sec. at f/7.1, ISO 200 18853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 6718853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 67 7/12/10 17:01:307/12/10 17:01:30

Digital Black & White Photography68 Keeping it simple Some photos can be so full of detail that it is difcult to know where to look. A simple composition is often more powerful than a cluttered one because it will have one message to convey rather than many. Rather perversely, simplicity is often difcult to achieve. The world is a visually complex and chaotic place. The rst step toward simplifying a composition is to decide what is and isnt important to the photo. Move around your subject, looking for the least cluttered background. You should give some thought to which lens you want to employ during this process: remember that a wide-angle lens will include a lot more of the background than a longer lens. Once you have the basic composition worked out, set up your camera and take a look around the edges of the viewnder. Is there anything intruding into the picture space that should not be there? When you are satised that the composition cannot be improved, consider the aperture and shutter speed. Long shutter speeds (see page 40) are particularly useful for minimizing distracting elements that may move during exposure. Selective focus (see page 70) is another useful technique that can help simplify a composition. What you leave out of a photo is as important as what you leave in. Adopting a minimalist approach to composition will take that concept to its ultimate conclusion. STORM FRONT The subject in this photo is the light breaking through the clouds as a rain shower passes overhead. I included just enough of the surrounding moorland to give a sense of place, without detracting from the effects of the elements. Canon 1DS MkII, 70200mm lens (at 85mm), 1/500 sec. at f/8, ISO 200 18853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 6818853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 68 7/12/10 17:01:317/12/10 17:01:31

The Expanded Guide 69 BREAKING THROUGH Snow simplies the landscape. These branches would have been lost against a background of similar tones without the snow to add contrast. Canon G10, lens at 15.7mm, 1/160 sec. at f/4, ISO 80 18853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 6918853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 69 7/12/10 17:01:327/12/10 17:01:32

Digital Black & White Photography70 Selective focus The selective focus technique uses a large aperture for minimal depth of eld (see page 38) and requires you to focus precisely on a selected part of the scene. This will be the focal point of your photo, so you should choose carefully where this is. The closer the focus point is to the lens, the smaller the depth of eld and the more pronounced the effect. Autofocus systems sometimes struggle with close-up subjects, often hunting or shifting in and out of focus without settling. If this happens, switch your lens to manual and focus using the lens focus ring. Once youve chosen your focus point, set the widest aperture you can on your camerayou may need to use manual or aperture priority, since automatic exposure modes wont necessarily select this for you. Take the photo and review the result on the cameras LCD screen. Zoom in as far as possible and check the point of sharp focus in the photo. If the focus is slightly out, adjust the lens and take the photo again. Because you are using the lens wide open, you should have a reasonably fast shutter speed, allowing you to handhold the camera. However, using a tripod will allow you to repeat the process more consistently. When looking at a photo, we tend to avoid lingering over out-of- focus areas.We can use this quirk of visual perception to deliberately direct the eye to a precisely chosen part of a photo. LOOKING In this photo, I focused precisely on my subjects eye. Even though her spectacles are only a fraction of an inch farther forward, the depth of eld was so small that they are out of focus. Canon 1DS MkII, 100mm lens, 1/400 sec. at f/3.2, ISO 320 18853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 7018853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 70 7/12/10 17:01:327/12/10 17:01:32

The Expanded Guide 71 BARBED WIRE As the knot of barbed wire wasnt near an AF focus point, I had to switch to manual focus. Set to autofocus, the camera focused on the background, which ruined the effect. Canon 7D, 50mm lens, 1/160 sec. at f/2.2, ISO 100 Untitled-3 71Untitled-3 71 26/11/10 11:19:0126/11/10 11:19:01

Retaining a small amount of color in your black & white photo is an effective way to draw the viewers eye to a particular area of the composition. See page 120 for more about the technique. A splash of color Canon 7D, 70200mm lens (at 90mm), 1/80 sec. at f/8, ISO 100 Digital Black & White Photography72 18853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 7218853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 72 7/12/10 17:01:327/12/10 17:01:32

I liked the contrast between the soft leaves in the foreground and the hard shape of the bridge behind that they neatly framed. I used a long shutter speed so that the leaves blowing in the wind were recorded as an expressionistic blur, further emphasizing their softness. Framing Canon 7D, 50mm lens, 18 sec. at f/18, ISO 100 The Expanded Guide 73 Untitled-3 73Untitled-3 73 26/11/10 11:19:0326/11/10 11:19:03

By using a macro lens, I was able to get in very close to my cat to create a photo. This helped to simplify the composition considerably. Now the photo is very much about the cats nose and the texture of the skin. Getting in close Pentax 67II, scanned lm, exposure details unrecorded Digital Black & White Photography74 Untitled-3 74Untitled-3 74 26/11/10 11:19:0426/11/10 11:19:04

The decisive moment applies equally to landscape as it does to human events. I had to wait for the moment when the tide was sufciently high that the sea washed around the stone in the foreground. When it nally did, because I was set up, it was just a case of pressing the shutter-release button. Tidal water Canon 1DS MkII, 1740mm lens (at 27mm), 30 sec. at f/18, ISO 100 The Expanded Guide 75 18853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 7518853-DIGITAL B&W 054-075.indd 75 7/12/10 17:01:337/12/10 17:01:33

18853-DIGITAL B&W 076-097.indd 7618853-DIGITAL B&W 076-097.indd 76 8/12/10 15:58:478/12/10 15:58:47

CHAPTER 5 COLOR TO BLACK & WHITE 18853-DIGITAL B&W 076-097.indd 7718853-DIGITAL B&W 076-097.indd 77 8/12/10 15:58:498/12/10 15:58:49

Digital Black & White Photography78 Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a big, complex package aimed at a variety of users, from graphic artists to movie effects specialists to, of course, photographers. As a result, it can be a daunting piece of software to learn. This book assumes some knowledge of Photoshop, such as importing and saving les, and basic editing. The tools that will be used most often in the following chapters are described in the next few pages. The more arcane and obscure functions of Photoshop will not be described, since their use is outside the scope of this book. The current version of Photoshop (CS5) is the twelfth version released since 1990. Each new version increases the number of features. To make this book as accessible as possible, only functions available in Photoshop CS2 onward (released 2005) will be used. Users of the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements should also be able to follow the examples described. The rst version of Adobe Photoshop was released in 1990. Since then it has become such a familiar photo editor that the name has become a verb.To Photoshop is widely recognized as altering a photo. PHOTOSHOP CS3 Making a levels adjustment using Photoshop. 18853-DIGITAL B&W 076-097.indd 7818853-DIGITAL B&W 076-097.indd 78 8/12/10 15:58:518/12/10 15:58:51

79The Expanded Guide By far the simplest and quickest way to convert a photo to black & white is to select Image/ Adjustments/Desaturate. However, the results can often look at, since there is no control over how the different colors in the photo will be converted to monochrome tones. The same effect can be achieved with Image/ Adjustments/Hue/Saturation and dragging the Saturation slider down to -100. Although this is not the best way to create black & white images, well be using the Hue/Saturation adjustment tool to tint our photos in the following chapter. 1) Select Hue/Saturation and check Colorize. 2) Use the Hue slider to globally tint your photo. As your move the Hue slider